Kolkata Chronicle - II

Aphter libhing in Kolkata phor around one bheek, I habe had a taste of Bengali kulhture. I am Konbhinsed dhat only those Kolkatans who hab a lot of time on their hands use the public transphort, those in a hurry bhalk. All Kolkatans eat Paan, ebhen the elite managers, that is bhy there is a new paan shop aphter ebhery 10 feet. All shops ebhen those selling kirana items sell Paan. I did not goo to the showrooms, perhaps they bhould also be selling paans. Kolkatans argue obher ebherything, the taxi bhaala bhould argue beeth the policeman, the pedestrian bouhld argue beeth the bus driver, the custhomer bhould argue beeth the salesman and the waiter will argue beeth the patron. The other day, I had gone to Reliance vebhworld phor some bhurk, the custhomer bephore me and the lady at the counter argued for halph hour. I came back bithout dhooing my bhurk. Ebheryday I pass that vebhworld, and that lady is albhays arguing.

No Kolkatan borth his salt bhould dribe his own car. All of them hab driver, and they call him driver ji. Kolkatan people slip early in the night. They dhont like to bhurk. They kome to office at taen and leave by phive. Kolkata people love starting konbhersations. So bithin two days, I had discussed so many theengs bith taxi bhallas, phellow diners, shop keepers that I got phed up. Many times thay started in bengali. I asked myself, do i loook like bannerjee, chatterjee, ganguli, das, mondal. Now bherever I go, I tail people "No Bengali, No hindi, No English, Only punjabi". No one talks to me aphter that. Kolkata is an amajhingly Kongested and polluted citee. I dhont want to kome here again. Kolkata people kip their citee bhery dhirty, ebhen dhirtier than delhi. And they gibh directions, ebhen ven they dhont know, much like Delhi. "Tarn Right, Tarn Left, phrom raid light, tarn right again".

Imagine you are so irritated reading these two paragraphs, I'm living through all this for almost a week.

Poor me :(

Reflections

Thursday was election day in Kolkata, which meant I had a day off from work. Only had to meet one gentleman who was some big industrialist of Kolkata, having his own tea plantations and paper mills. The way he was dropping names of the top brass of papers division, looked like he was some real big shot. Otherwise, he was really unassuming and helpful. I had a real free wheeling conversation with him which revolved from the dynamics of the tea industry to the life at an IIM. Actually, I ended up discussing very little about paper than what I should have.

Have four or five visits lined up for the next two days. Frankly speaking, I think I might get bored of asking the same questions to so many different people. But, I guess, marketing summers is all about market surveys.

On a personal front, I dont see much joy in travelling to so many places all alone. In contrast, its a different matter altogether if you are travelling with friends or family. I see quite a few places on Park Street to eat out or kill time but dont feel like going there alone. Its not that I don't have any college mates here in Kolkata, but in what I believe is remarkably opposite to my nature, I have very few friends at K. And I guess I'm not even on talking terms with most of the ppl at K. Its not that I've become selective or anything, its just that my initial days at K were quite uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. I never felt like being a part of the crowd. Different priorities, different mindset or different purpose, whatever. Ofcourse, I'm discounting the possibilty that no one there wanted to be friends with me :)

To make matters even duller in Calcutta, there is some hard-to-fix problem with the status of my ifone in Reliance's system. My phone cant get activated and being without internet most of the time, I'm feeling cut off from the world. I had grand plans for summer - gymming, running, french, swimming and what not. Alas, with the project I got here at ITC, none of that is possible. I'm not complaining though, as I'm getting to see all the big cities of India. Its just that I hope they put me up at some decent places where I atleast have an opportunity to interact with other people. Not like the current guest house where I'm the only guest!

Reflecting back on the past year, I suppose I've got all the opportunities that I looked forward to when I first thought of coming to a B-School. And it all came easily, So I've raised the bar now. I've a different set of expectations now and I know, I'll have to work real hard in the months to come to achieve all that. Too early to say but I think I'm not exactly looking at a career in marketing. I've thought hard about finance but I keep hating desk Jobs. In my heart of hearts, I know I want to do my own stuff, but i'll have to wait and see if I have the courage and the resources to take the plunge. I hope my three month stay in Paris would give me some more exposure to decide batter.

The other day, Nitin Jain gave me a new perspective on life. This was over dinner about a week back. In about 750 weeks from now, I'll turn 40. And its already been three weeks since I started my summers and one week since I had this conversation with him. Time is pretty much flying off, and one must get started as soon as possible if one thinks of doing anything different. And ever since he said this, I've really started to look at things in a different light. Many situations seem to demand a now or never response. Don't know if it is a good thing or a bad one. Anyway, talking to Nitin over the last three or four months, I can always see a person with a remarakble enterprise. I hope and wish, he achieves what he has set out for.

Kolkata Chronicle

At the outset, let me clarify that I'm not put up at Sonar Bangla. And even if there is a company that would put its summer interns at Sonar Bangla, I'm sure it won't take me :) In fact, I'm put up at a guest house on Middleton street (just next to park street) and I'm living reasonably comfortably.

First day at work was quite cool. The branch office at Kolkata was quite upmarket and highly unlike the headquaters at Hyderabad. One distressing thing about Hyderabad office is the fact, that all managers' chambers are airconditioned, whereas the rest of the staff operate out of a workplace whose central airconditioning, going by the look of the ducts, perhaps stopped working when I was in first standard.

And as for Kolkata, one feels that you are in a time warp, you don't expect a city to look like this in todays world. Whatever little I've seen today (Eden Gardens, Dalhousie, Victoria Memorial, Park Street, Camac street, Lee Street, Howrah bridge, Jackson Lane), seems that this place is not engulfed by the waves of prosperity that have swept some of the other larger cities. If people are wealthy, it is not apparent.

Interstingly there are still a lot of good old Ambys around in Kolkata. But you really have to come to this place to see how many of them are here. Just go to any road and look right, left, here, there, Amby is everywhere (there are other cars too, but not as many!). And unlike many cities, couldn't see any autos. Whatever little I could gauge, I felt that perhaps this place, with its metro, sidewalks, buildings, crossings and everything, would be one of the finer modern cities of India, but unfortunately, it didn't progress much further. And no, I couldn't feel any old world charm here. It is terribly crowded with its narrow streets, polluting vehicles and lack of parking space. On the flip side, traffic is a lot well behaved. Didn't look to me if pedestrians were treated like dirt. Contrast this with hyderabad where after spending a couple of days you'd realize that the average IQ of all the drivers on its streets should not be more than 15.

Not much of a paper market here in Kolkata but as my guide put it, enough to get my feet wet!!!

Week 2

My old TG friend, Nitin, who has been a part of previous couple of posts is also an alumnus of ISB. So Nitin took me to ISB last night where another very good friend, Gurdish, joined last week. Got to ISB at around nine last night. Nitin showed me around and I must say, that facilities are really top class, probably worth the huge fee that they charge. And as Gurdish termed it, there is plenty of 'Page 3' crowd around. Hope some of it rubs off on my friend from Chandigarh. But one thing that struck me was their academic building, it looked pretty much like a software company, everything contained in one building, from Class rooms to conference halls, Library to Loo's and Media center to Mess. And often enough with its lifts and doors, it had a resemblance to a hospital, the five star variety though, Escorts, Apollo, Rockland et al. The Classrooms looked intimidating and very formal, not the kinds that we get at K, airy and relaxed.

Anyway, had a sumptuous dinner at a place called Ohri's at Banjara Hills and got to the guest house real late. Only regret, that Nitin is not even a social drinker!

All that apart, I start travelling from the coming Monday. I'll be in Kolkata this week, followed by Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. If any of you has a recommendation to make for an eating joint or a place to visit (must-see), please drop a line. Probably, this is my one and only chance to see India on Sarkari Kharch. BTW, I'm having a baptism by fire in the real world. Real World because Tarun always says that people working in software companies are living in a 'Virtual World'. A large Bollaram based printer kicked me out of his place on Friday. Probably the first Sip of a bitter cup as I've to visit almost hundred dealers and printers.

Getting excited at the prospect of seeing a lot of places for the first time and a bit anxious too, coz it gets very lonely sometimes. I think Summers is a wonderful concept, you get to know if you can really take on the pressures that various functions require. A sort of opportunity for mid course correction. Pity, the one year MBA wallah's, initial mistake might prove costly for many of them!!!

Week 1

Plenty of firsts in this week for me, got an opportunity to travel by train after some 8-9 years as I was sent to the paper mill at Bhadrachalam. My first ever plant visit, and a awesome one at that. A huge 100 meter long, 2000 crore machine. Amazing. You'd never imagine that paper making would entail such technology and investment. Visited the Eucalyptus plantations on the banks of Godavari, stunning panoramic views. And also visited the sixteenth century Sri RamChandra Swami temple at Bhadrachalam. Felt nice. Got to office today by public transport, a crowded local bus. I've never travelled to office before on public transport, not a nice experience at all. Probably even using a local bus after a long long time. Had the famous hyderabadi biryani at a local restaurant on Sunday. Okie types. Actually, my office is close to this place called Paradise which is quite famous for its biryani, would try it some time this week. And in contrast to the software world where we were so used to 'weeklies', my project guide, GM - Exports has told me to see him twice every day. Plenty of danda here...

And the accomodation (mis)adventure continues, here's a list of places where I've had to sleep last week...

Monday : Some Marvel Residency at Punjagutta

Tuesday : Some Corporate Guest House, Begumpet

Wednesday : Friends place, Banjara Hills

Thursday : Macchlipatnam Express

Friday : Bhadrachalam

Saturday : Macchlipatnam Express, again

Sunday : Banjara Hills,

In all probability, I move to Bashirbagh area tonight...

Hyderabad Update

Shifted to my third accomodation in as many days yesterday. This time with my IIMK mates who are interning with DRL. This place is in the Banjara Hills area of Hyderabad. Banjara Hlls, an apt name considering my situation. Anyway, my office is near the Secunderabad Railway Station and it took me one and a half hour to get to this place in Banjara Hills from office last evening. And sixty five rupees too. I don't think this would suit me in any case, not unless a slew of flyovers come up tomorrow morning. In any case, I'm off to Bhadrachalam for a plant visit for a couple of days. Mercifully, they take care of your accommodation and food there!

P.S. And no, I still haven't had the opportunity to taste genuine Hyderabadi Biryani :(

Hyderabad Blues...

Its been a fairly eventful couple of days for me at Hyderabad. I got here late Sunday (or early Monday if you please). Had a terribly difficult time in locating the place where a good old NSIT mate had booked me, and as things planned by my NSIT mates generally go, it never hapened the way it was planned. First, the address was a 'bit' wrong. Then when I called the number that I was given a lady picked up and shouted, "Is it the time to call someone!". Bechaara me had to take the help of the autowallah who kept reminding that 2 o'clock is a "danger time" in hyderabad. Finally i checked in a shady place called 'Marvel Stay Inn' at the Punjghatta crossing. I got a room at the second floor with a window which has a view of wall one and a half feet away (actually i asked for a ventilated room). The toilet is so small that you can wash your hands sitting on the pot (and have the shower at the same time). But lazy me, I'm still stuck up at that place which is setting me back by a cool eight hundred rupees per night waiting to get the ITC guest house for a couple of days. I hope that I get to know the city better in the interim to plan for a permanent acco in a better way (and BTW, the old NSIT friend would be back by then from a business trip).
As all Indian cities these days, Hyderabad too seems a prosperous city with malls, huge jewelry show rooms and big flashy cars. But the only thing is there are plenty of rags around and people sleeping on the streets as well. And its almost piping hot!
As for the company, those who have worked in a top class new generation technology firm and in some sales office of a B2B manufacturing firm will understand my feelings. I'm currently interning in the speciality papers division.

Bijli aur Invertor...

Summer is an oppressive time in Delhi. You can cook your lunch on your terrace without gas and half-boil eggs on car bonnets. Surely you don't want to be living on a top floor. Heat is unrelenting and its difficult without an AC or a cooler. But fortunately or unfortunately, AC runs on electricity, something which the capital is always short of. Therefore, Dilli has always had a huge demand for invertors/generators and around 01-02, it became a cottage industry in Delhi. Inspired by the success of private distribution in Bombay and Hyderabad, DVB decided to rope in NDPL and BSES to cut its HUGE T&D losses. Now what I find to be very amusing are the trends of the past couple of years. I believe that the electricity situation has improved in the capital since the Transcos came, but I also observed that the moment the season changes (around April), there are a lot of power cuts. The situation improves considerably in a fortnight or two. I'm only guessing but I think there is some tacit understanding between the inverter companies and the transcos. Rising mercury coupled with power outages make invertors a compelling choice! Don't know if something is possible at the dealers-substation leverl but surely if there is an invertor manufacturers association, need to know what it does! And if it doesn't do anything, here is some food for thought for it.

Why I'll hit 'mute' when Arun Lal speaks...

Often, Good Commentary can enhance the experience of watching a cricket match. Having grown up on a diet of cricket across the world (and especially down under) and listening to stalwarts like Benaud (amazing 'economy of expression') and Boycott, I'm really disappointed with what our Indian Channels are dishing up. Not sure if this adhoc-ism of commentary teams is due to frequent switching of broadcasters but whatever the reason, most of the commentary teams being put up are pathetic at best.
Arun Lal is a case in point. I could see it coming for many a match but now I've firmly made up my mind on him. I've rarely seen(heard) him provide any insight. And has an tremendously irritating voice to top it. Don't think he is ever able to see the broader picture. Comments generally on the past ball, or whatever the fellow commentator initiates. Generally has a poor knowledge of the history of the game, rarely ever able to come with anything useful or analogous from the past (due to his own at-best mediocre playing record?). In the Faridabad ODI, when Nasser Hussain made some sort of a disparaging remark on Sehwag's record, all he could think of was his 195 in Australia (totally forgot SAF and England). Sadly, he was terribly inarticulate and you couldn't make out if he was agreeing or disagreeing.
The worst part these days is that he seems to be on air whenever there is cricket, regardless of the channel. For the readers who share my misery, I daresay, this is just the beginning. Probably we'll have to live with it because a certain Mr. Thawani would be keen to cut costs on production. And Arun Lal I believe would be a bargain in comparison with say, a Mark Nicholas.
Over the past couple of years, Commentary standards have been deteriorating, not saying that only firangis make good commentators. Dean Jones, I feel is a poor county cousin of Bill Lawry. Current Series, feel that only Gower and Atherton are good. Sivaramakrishnan is okay too but the others are eminently avoidable.
How I wish some of our commentators could turn up into something like Michael Holding, Ian Chappel, Paul Allot or even someone like Charles Colvile or Tony Cozier.